Praveen Kumar involved in another on-field bust-up

Infamous for his temper and on-field brawls, Uttar Pradesh and India swing bowler Praveen Kumar was in the news again for the wrong reasons.

Praveen was reported for offensive behaviour and violating the Code of Conduct by the umpires during the recent Corporate Trophy match between ONGC and Income Tax on February 4, as reported in DNA by Sai Prasad Mohapatra.

During the 48th over of the Income Tax innings, Praveen, who plays for ONGC, reportedly made an offensive gesture and resorted to “violent physical contact” against Ajitesh Argal, the Income Tax medium-pacer.

The two umpires, Ajit S Datar and Kamlesh Sharma, have given a detailed account of the events to the BCCI and match referee Dhananjay Singh.

“After bowling the first ball, Praveen Kumar advanced aggressively towards the striker and made violent physical contact with him, head-butting and chest-butting the striker.”

The umpires have suggested a hundred per cent penalty to be imposed on Praveen as per the BCCI guidelines, with a warning that he should not “indulge in such acts in future”.

The umpires also said Praveen “is not in a mental frame to play the game”. They claimed that his own teammates deserted him.

“He is very aggressive and gets hostile with little trigger. He is very abusive and passes very filthy comments to his own team mates, opponents and even to the spectators,” they wrote in the letter.

“During the first match also (ONGC vs CAG on February 1), he had some spat with the spectators at Raipur. It was informed to me by the other match referee Mr Prakash Bhatt. Even his own teammates are keeping some distance from him.”

The last time Praveen was in the news on similar accounts was during India’s 2011 Test series in England, where he had reacted angrily to fans’ gibes in a tour game against Northants.

During India’s tour of the West Indies the same year, he had scrapped with a spectator in Port of Spain. In 2008, he had allegedly beaten up a doctor in his hometown Meerut.

First Published on February 7, 2013, 12:53 pmLast updated on February 7, 2013, 12:53 pm